Otology and neurotology

Many nerves pass through the base of your skull, including those that control your hearing, facial muscles, eyesight, and balance. A problem with these nerves can cause cranial base disorders and neurotologic conditions (nerve-related inner ear concerns), which can profoundly affect your daily life. Symptoms can make it hard to work, communicate with others, and do everyday activities.

Effective treatment for ear and skull base disorders requires the input of specialists across multiple disciplines. Our otorhinolaryngologists have advanced training in otology, neurotology, and head and neck surgery. They collaborate with experts in audiology, neurosurgery, neurology, medical oncology, and radiation oncology to plan your treatment. When you turn to Penn Medicine for otology and neurotology care, you have access to all the specialists you need to see in one place.

Penn Medicine offers leading-edge techniques and procedures to diagnose neurotological disorders, including balance and dizziness testing, hearing evaluations, neurological evaluations, and imaging scans. We also use the latest intraoperative imaging technology, allowing us to see tumors in real-time as we perform skull base tumor surgery. This technology helps us operate with greater precision and accuracy, reducing the risk of damage to surrounding nerves and tissue.

Our advanced intraoperative imaging capabilities include:

• 3D endoscopy: provides three-dimensional images and improves depth perception during surgery
• Cranial nerve monitoring: helps us monitor and preserve vital functions such as vision, hearing, facial expressions, and speech during surgery
• Interventional angiography: identifies blood vessels near tumors and helps to reduce blood loss during surgery
• Brain mapping: produces highly detailed images of advanced tumors in your central or peripheral nervous system
• TumorGlow^®: uses a dye and special camera that makes hard-to-detect cancer cells light up during surgery

Penn Medicine has one of the region’s highest-volume otology and neurotology programs. Every month, we care for hundreds of patients, helping them find relief from debilitating symptoms.

Because we routinely treat complex ear and skull base disorders, we’ve developed a skillset and depth of experience that’s unmatched in the greater Philadelphia, Lancaster, and Princeton areas. As a regional and national referral center, people throughout the country turn to us for treatments they can’t find elsewhere.